Timing apparatus for race-courses



.(No Model.)

B. 0. ADAMS. TIMING APPARATUS FOR RAGE COURSES.

Patented Apr. 30, 1889.

WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY.

n. PETERS, Plwlo-Lithognwr, Wuhinwn. ac

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD O. ADAMS, OF LOUISVILLE, NEBRASKA.

TIMING APPARATUS FOR RACE-COURSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 402,291, dated April30, 1889.

Application filed March 15, 1887. Serial No. 230,967. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD O. ADAMS, of Louisville, C ass county, Stateof Nebraska, have invented a new and useful Timing Apparatus forRace-Courses, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart hereof.

The object of this invention is to atford to the horse owner or t ainera sure an d reliable means or method of determining the speed attainedby a horse on the track, as well as a means of speeding horses at anydesired rate.

The invention may be said to consist in a timing-instrunrent arranged toface the grand stand or amphitheater of a race-track, provided with oneor more indicating-faces and devices controlled by an operator in thejudges stand or by an operator that is located at a distance from saidinstrument, for starting, stopping, and setting it back to thestarting-point; and, further, in a series of timinginstruments arrangedaround a track at suit able distances apart, and suitable devicescontrolled by an operator in the judges stand or by an operator that islocated at a distance from said instruments for connecting themtogether, so that all maybe started, stopped, and reset simultaneouslyor in unison.

In the drawings which illustrate the manner of carrying out myinvention, Figure l is a plan view of a mile-track having my timingapparatus applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a face view of an ordinaryhorse-timer mounted upon a supportingpost. Fig. 3 is a side elevation ofthe same. Fig. lis a detail view of the operating-lever that is to belocated in the judges stand, Fig. 5 is a side elevation of an ordinaryhorse-timer mounted on a supportingpost, and showing the side of the supporting-bracket that is opposite to that shown in Fi Fig 6 is aperspective view of a bell-crank having a depressing-arm for engagingthe set-back pin of the timer. Fig. 7 is a like view of a bell-crank;and Fig. 8 is a detail view of the upper end of a supportingbracketlocated on the posts, and showing the slot through which the arm forengaging the set-back pin operates.

A indicates the inside line of a mile racecourse, around which thehorses are supposed to travel in the direction of the arrows shown.

B is a timing-instrument, which may be of the ordinary construction,except of enlarged size, so as to be easily read from the grand stand,arranged to face such stand, and which can be provided with one, two, orthree faces, as desired. The timer B is to be located on a suitable postjust above the ordinary judges stand of the track, and it, in connectionwith the timers 13, form a series of timing-instruments, which arearranged upon suitable posts or supports at intervals around the trackA. It is preferred that an instrument be located at each quarter of thetrack, as is here shown, although a greater or less number of them maybe used, if so desired.

1 may either connect the instruments forming the series by means of awire or wires and start and stop and reset them by electricity, or I canuse the mechanical devices here shown for the purpose. Of course in anarrangement of timing-instruments as described all of the instruments inthe series should be started, stopped, and reset simultaneously. In thepresent instance this is accomplished as follows: A suitablehand-levee-such as F-to be operated by the starter, is located in thejudges stand. It is fulcrumed at G, and is provided with suitable stopson either side to limit its movement. The letter 7L indicates suchstops.

The lever F is pivoted to some part of the judges stand-say a post, Dand a wire, a, is attached to one of its ends and passes out and up to abell-cranksuch as dlocated on the lower portion of thesupporting-bracket C, thence to the starting and stopping attach ment ofthe timer l3, thence to another bellcrank, (I, located on the upperportion of the supporting-bracket of the timer B, thence to a post, E,which may carry a suitable roller or pulley for changing the directionof strain, and thence to the first one of the series of timers Barranged around the track, as be fore mentioned. The wire a, afterleaving the devices at the judges stand, engages a supporting-post, E,and then passes to the bell-crank located on the lower portion of thebracket which supports the first timer of the series, thence to itsstarting device, and so on with each of the timing-instruments, all ofthem being arranged substantially alike and supported upon posts 0 so asto face the For the purpose of resetting all of the in-' strumentssimultaneously another lever such as F will be provided, and anotherwire,

a, will be arranged in amanner similar to the first-mentioned one,except that it will engage bell-cranks or equivalent deviceslocated onthe opposite sides of the brackets which support the timers, and thebell-crank d, that is located at the upper portion of this side of thebracket, will be or is provided with a laterally-proj ecting arm, (1,which extends from one side thereof through slot 14 in said bracket inposition to engage the set-back pin 12, as shown.

All of the instruments ]3 B are to be of such size that their faces 0may be read by the drivers traveling around the track.

The operation of the invention is as follows: When a race is to bestarted, the starter first throws the lever F to one side, (or a leverthat is similar in construction to it,) thereby operating the wire a anddepressing'the arm d of bell-crank d and setting all of the instrumentsback to zero; then at the instant of the start the operator throws overthe other.

lever, and thereby draws down the starting device 10 of the instrumentsand starts them all simultaneously. For the purpose of stopping theinstruments at the finish of the race the starting-lever is to be thrownin an opposite direction, thereby raising the device 10 on the side ofthe instruments. The construction and operation of ordinary horse-timersis so Well known that I do not deem a description of them necessary tobe given here.

For the purpose of returning the stopping and starting and resettingdevices to their original position after they have been moved in onedirection it will be necessary to provide a suitable spring or a weightof some kind at the end of each wire, so as to hold them taut at alltimes, or a double set of wires can be provided for such purpose similarto those here indicated. These changes in the details of construction,together with any others that might suggest themselves to a skilledmechanic, could be made without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a timingmechanism for race-courses, the combination of an operativetiminginstrument mechanically mounted so as to be visible to the generalclass of spectators at a race-course, and controlling-connectionsbetween said timing-instrument and a distant operating-point, wherebysaid instrument may be started, stopped, and otherwise controlled by anoperator located at a distance from said timing-instrument,substantially as shown and specified.

2. In a timing mechanism for race-courses, the combination of a seriesof operative timin g-instruments arranged at intervals around the courseand facing the direction of ad- Vance, and devices, substantially asdescribed, arranged to control, stop, and start each timing-instrumentof the series simultaneously, substantially as shown and specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RIG-HARD O. ADAMS.

Witnesses:

ROBERT P. BEEOHER, THOS. H. HYDE.

